When starting off from a stoplight me & my wife find it hard to shift from neutral to first.Once we are going underway there is no problem shifting gears.What can be done about this?

Bad motor mounts have also been implicated with hard shifting, as the

geometry of the linkage changes. I'd suspect you'd experience hard

shifting into reverse also if this were the case.

I own a 1978 and a 1986 and on both these cars they use automatic transmission fuild type "F" in them. I have about 515,000 between the two cars and still running strong.

They should be change every 30.000 or when the shifting becomes a little sticky. As far as getting into first while stopped, it is a good chance that the clutch isn't disengaging completly. If the gear clips or grinds when shifting down I would look there first. I like shifting down into first at 10 mph or less but before stopping. If I stop for a ;ong time then I'll rest my foot while in neutral. The synchronizers work best with some movement and if they are well lubricated with fresh clean fluid. The overdrive also works better too.

I also push the clutch in when shifting it up or down. The clutch in it has to slide back and forth under hydraulic pressure when you flip the switch. Releiving the strain some will make the unit last and last.

When I change the fuild I check the check ball to the pump and look for wear on the round disk that the ball seats into. I touch up this sealing surface with a 60 degree combination drill and countersink in my lathe or a slow turning drill motor. This insures good pressure for shifting. When you clean the filter screens you will find this under the screw in caps under the overdrive service plate.

I made a tool to remove them from a large pipe plug. I drilled two holes in it. The distance apart to match the two holes in the caps. Put short rods in them. I use a wrench on the square to loosen or tighten them in place.

I agree, even if it is the clutch cable freeplay.. you should still

change the trans oil. I put Valvoline Fullsynthetic 10w30 in mine m46,

and it made a significant difference in shifts to first..

by the way, if the one of the six bolds on the overdrive oil strainer

cover looks a little corroded then go ahead and use a backout on it.

I snapped one right off, and it was a bitch to get out.

for reference, those bolts are STANDARD, not metric as one would assume.

good luck.

If you do everything that was mentioned and the tranny is still hard, I suggest replacing the oil with Mobil 1 synthetic 10W30.

I had a problem getting into first and that solved it.

Rene

John's right.

First thing to do is to make sure your clutch is adjusted right.

(less than 1" pedal play). If so, you probably have a problem

in your clutch or pilot bearing. Your synchronizers keep you

from damaging your tranny when the gears are turning at different

speeds.

Neal, Have you ever had the tranny fluid changed, makes a world of difference on the Volvos.... Tom Wasney 240aholic

Neal -- here's another possible cause: If you lift up the flexible boot over the stick shift, you'll see a thick steel plate bolted down on the stickshift support. This is the lock-out plate which prevents reverse from being engaged unless you pull up on the ring. (Pull up on the ring while everything's exposed and you can see how it all works.) It may be that this lock-out plate has over the years migrated too far to the right and it's now preventing your stick shift from moving left far enough to properly engage 1st.

Bentley calls this a 'detent plate'. Bentley says to properly adjust it, you first engage first gear, then loosen the detent plate and tighten it back up with a 0.5 -1.5mm clearance between the plate and the stick. In other words, when you engage 1st gear, the stick shouldn't rub the detent plate.

Hope this helps.

Rob

Does it shift easily into first gear when stopped with the engine shut off? Is it difficult to shift into first only when the engine is running? If yes to those questions, you may have a clutch that is dragging(not completely disengaging), or a pilot bearing that is dragging.